The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost another key player due to gastrointestinal issues.
The Dodgers broke a two-game losing streak by winning 5-3 against the Colorado Rockies on the 15th (Korean time) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Last year's World Series champions, the Dodgers are off to a strong start this season with a record of 12 wins and 6 losses, resulting in a .667 winning percentage. While they remain in third place in the National League West, due to the impressive pace of San Diego (14 wins, 3 losses, .824 winning percentage) and San Francisco (12 wins, 4 losses, .750 winning percentage), they are maintaining a very high overall winning percentage.
However, the Dodgers continue to struggle with injury issues. Players have repeatedly been unable to compete due to gastrointestinal problems. The first player to experience this issue was Mookie Betts. He flew to Japan for the Tokyo Series against the Cubs on the 18th and 19th of last month, but he couldn't recover from the vomiting symptoms that started in the later parts of the spring games and ultimately missed both games of the Tokyo Series. Betts was able to return to the team for the home opener on the 28th of last month.
Following Betts, Enrique Hernandez was also affected. He, too, experienced vomiting symptoms and was unable to play from the 20th to the 31st of last month. Both Betts and Enrique Hernandez are now back with the team and participating in games.
On the day of the game, Teoscar Hernandez was pulled from the starting lineup due to gastrointestinal issues and ultimately could not participate. Japanese media Sponichi Annex reported, "The Dodgers had Betts sidelined in mid-March and Enrique Hernandez at the end of March due to gastrointestinal problems. Now, Teoscar Hernandez has also missed out," expressing concern over the ongoing absences of players from the Dodgers.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "(Teoscar Hernandez) is feeling a bit off. He reportedly didn’t sleep well last night. Therefore, we’ll keep him out of the starting lineup today and decide on his playing status. I want to give him some rest and reduce the strain on his legs. As of now, we need to monitor his condition daily, and we don’t have a precise diagnosis yet." He added, "It's another gastrointestinal issue. It's really quite frustrating."
Teoscar Hernandez is a power hitter with a career batting average of .263 over 982 Major League games (3,598 at-bats, 946 hits), 197 home runs, 588 RBIs, 515 runs scored, and 56 stolen bases, with an OPS of .809. This season, he has been leading the team's batting lineup with a batting average of .281 (18 hits in 64 at-bats), 5 home runs, 16 RBIs, 9 runs scored, 2 stolen bases, and an OPS of .872 over 17 games.
The Dodgers are once again grappling with the uncertain absence of their key players. It remains to be seen whether the unknown illness plaguing the Dodgers will end with Teoscar Hernandez or if another player will miss a game.
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